And it is that peculiar as all the different ingredients do not spoil the paste in the end. It’s a little big band with little big songs. The greatest of them takes only 2 minutes and 58 seconds: „Beygja Og Beygja“.
There is the emphatic brass section of Northern Soul. And, last but not least, there is a Benni Hemm Hemm who holds all that together, who once is the inward, suffering man, the passionate narrator, and then the crafty entertainer. There are real,
honest love-songs on this album. And there are songs one simply has to love.
The tracks of this album were written during a stay in Italy lasting several months. Maybe it was this new, distanced perspective on usual correlations and
interrelations has contributed to the casual complexity of this debut-album. A debut-album, by the way, that was awarded as the best album of the island state on the occasion of the Icelandic Music Awards. Besides, Benni Hemm Hemm and his band were elected as the best newcomer. In September 2005 the record was released on the small label Smákökurnar, based in the Icelandiccapital Reykjavik for a first time.
Now it is re-released on Sound of a Handshake, Morr
Music’s small, curious sister. A new home for an album that will grow with each time one listens to it. Equally as
Benni Hemm Hemm’s band changes with each concert. In
the centre there is Benni with his fervour, a mischievous smile, his acoustic guitar and his arrangements. Around him there are guitars, glockenspiel and the brass section.
Around him there are raging waves and a deep, pure sea. You should listen to this record loudly. And often, but you will find that out by yourself anyway
The Doomed The Damned
Benni Hemm Hemm Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
a demon lays with a smile and devil eyes
In the wall underground
between the ears and under fingernails
The doomed the damned, the dark and dead
lay down your swords and close your eyes
Staying straight
turning point
takeover
crisis, handles the gamesmen
nightfall h-hour
Island X
the prisoner
the ride, the turf
close encounters, the screw
options
the doomed, the damned
The lyrics of Benni Hemm Hemm's song The Doomed The Damned paint a picture of a dark and eerie underworld, where a demon lurks and the dead and damned lie. The demon is described as having a smile and devil eyes, suggesting that it is malevolent and enjoying the pain of those who are trapped in this underworld. The description of the demon as lying "between the ears and under fingernails" is particularly striking - it suggests that it is something that is inside us, perhaps an aspect of our own psyche that we don't want to acknowledge.
The chorus of the song urges the doomed and the damned to surrender and lay down their swords, suggesting that there is no hope of escape from this underworld. The lyrics also feature a series of cryptic phrases that seem to allude to different aspects of this dark world - "staying straight", "turning point", "crisis", "handles the gamesmen" and "nightfall h-hour" all hint at a sense of danger and uncertainty. Similarly, references to "Island X", "the prisoner", "the ride", "the turf", "close encounters", "the screw" and "options" all suggest that there are different challenges and obstacles facing those who are trapped in this underworld.
Line by Line Meaning
Deep down here, in the dark
Metaphorical description of a demon living in the deepest, darkest parts of one's mind
a demon lays with a smile and devil eyes
Describing how one's inner demons can be tempting and alluring, even while they're dangerous
In the wall underground
A hidden place within oneself, not easily accessible
between the ears and under fingernails
Referring to the physical and mental spaces where these inner demons reside
The doomed the damned, the dark and dead
All those who are lost and hopeless, struggling with inner darkness
lay down your swords and close your eyes
Surrendering and giving into the darkness within
Staying straight
Enduring and persisting through the struggles of life
turning point
Reaching a crucial moment of change and growth
takeover
The darkness within taking control
crisis, handles the gamesmen
Navigating through difficult situations and coming out on top
nightfall h-hour
A time of darkness and despair when one's inner demons can become more powerful
Island X
A metaphorical place of isolation and loneliness
the prisoner
Feeling trapped and helpless in one's own mind
the ride, the turf
The journey through life that one must take, even in the face of adversity
close encounters, the screw
Being tested by challenging situations and individuals
options
The choices one must make when confronted by inner demons
the doomed, the damned
Those who are struggling and suffering internally, doomed to their own demons
Contributed by Henry Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.